Gonorrhea rates lowest since 1941

Nov. 23, 2010 12:00 AMUSA Today

One of the nation's most common forms of sexually transmitted diseases has fallen to its lowest level ever recorded, but there's still improvement needed, according to a new government report out Monday.

The report, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's annual report card on sexually transmitted diseases, found that gonorrhea rates in 2009 - the most recent year for which figures are available - were at their lowest level since 1941. The report also found that syphilis rates among women held steady after several years of increases. But the nation's chlamydia cases were up 19 percent.

The CDC said that while overall the findings are encouraging, "there are large disparities in STD rates by race and age. Some racial/ethnic minority groups have much higher STD rates than Whites, and young African Americans are particularly hard-hit."

Syphilis rates among young Black men were about double the rate they were in 2005, the CDC found. Chlamydia rates reached a record high in 2009, which the CDC said probably represents increased testing.

Gonorrhea infections in 2009 dropped to about 111 cases per 100,000 population, down 10.5 percent from 2008, The 2009 rate, the third-consecutive annual decline, was the lowest since record-keeping began in 1941.